Spaghetti all’assassina with seafood

Prepare
less than 30 mins
Cook
10 to 30 mins
Serve
Serves 2

This spicy pasta dish is cooked more like a risotto, with ladles of broth gradually added to slowly cook the spaghettini.

By Matt Tebbutt

From Saturday Kitchen

Shopping list

Ingredients

For the broth

For the seafood

  • 200g/7oz mussels, scrubbed and debearded
  • 125ml/4fl oz white wine
  • 1 bay leaf
  • few fresh thyme sprigs
  • 1 banana shallot, peeled and chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, smashed
  • 6 large raw prawns, heads removed, shells removed and reserved for broth (see above), de-veined, chopped
  • 2 small squid, cleaned and cut into very thin strips

For the spaghetti

Method

  1. To make the broth, place all of the ingredients and 1 litre/1¾ pints water in a large saucepan and cook over a medium heat for 20 minutes. Set aside.

  2. To make the seafood, discard any mussels with broken shells and any that refuse to close when tapped. Place a large saucepan on the hob over a medium heat, add the mussels, wine, bay leaf, thyme, shallot and garlic and cook until the mussels are opened. Discard any mussels that remain closed.

  3. Strain the mussels and reserve the mussels and the cooking liquor. Strain the cooking liquor and pick the mussels from their shells. Set aside.

  4. To make the spaghetti, heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the garlic and chilli. Add the passata and cook for a few minutes.

  5. Add the spaghettini, spreading it across the base of the pan. Leave undisturbed to start caramelising for 1–2 minutes. Gradually add ladles of the broth and reserved mussel liquor until all of the liquid absorbed and the pasta is cooked through.

  6. Stir in the mussels, prawns and squid and serve.